Employers looking to bolster their workforces are being asked to consider hiring Maine prison inmates.
Next month, the Maine Department of Labor and the Maine Corrections Department are holding a seminar to educate employers about helping former prisoners be successful on the job. The no-cost, half day session on Sept. 12 is taking place at the Maine State Prison in Warren.
Ed Upham with the Maine Department of Labor says employers in Maine are having a hard time finding people to fill positions.
“This is another possible place where employers can tap a workforce that’s ready and available and can be trained in the areas that they need people trained in,” he says. “People may come and find out, ‘Wow, this isn’t what I thought it was and it’s not for me,’ and that’s OK. Other people are going to come and they’re going to go, ‘I can use some of these people, I can use some of these folks and, you know, I want to learn more.’”
Upham says there are several job training programs currently underway at the state prison. He says among those who’ll be making presentations at the H.I.R.E. ME seminar are employers who have experience working with the prisoner population.
The seminar will address the hiring of individuals on work release, setting up training programs for those still in prison and how employers can take advantage of available tax credits.
